The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 64: Business Partner

“Kind of you to offer,” Gao Yang rejected with a smile. “But no thanks.”

“Alright.” Liu Qingying didn’t seem surprised. She took two steps back and sat down on the chair. “Tell me whenever you change your mind.”

She smiled. “I am quite confident in my Talent. Sweet Dream and Seduction combined would give you the time of your life without any risk.”

“True,” said Gao Yang.

“You may not believe me, but someone once offered 50 jinwu for a chance to sleep with me, and I turned them down.”

“I believe you. You are very attractive.”

And Gao Yang was only telling the truth rather than trying to butter her up.

However, he lived by his principles and was wary by nature. As an orphan who had transmigrated into this world, he came to realize after experiencing what a family was that in many cases, love was more dangerous than raw power.

Although they were merely business partners, and every interaction would be taking place in dreams, there was no telling if he would develop feelings for her after getting intimate. Then he would be a slave to his feelings for her.

Given he had zero experience in relationships, he knew very well that he could end up losing everything to a beautiful, experienced woman with a cunning mind and a long list of past conquests—and one with Seduction as a Talent at that.

“Knowing that’s how you see me makes me a little hurt.” Liu Qingying read his mind again.

Gao Yang wasn’t concerned about that, though. He was making it clear that she should give up on seducing him.

“So, do we have a deal?” Liu Qingying asked.

“Deal. But don’t get your hopes up,” said Gao Yang. “It’s possible that I won’t sell you any intel in the end.”

“That’s fine with me. Even if our deal ends up not working, our relationship remains.” Liu Qingying smiled. “Still, we’ll have to stay like this the rest of the night. It’s going to put you at a disadvantage since I can decipher parts of the thoughts going through your mind, albeit not an accurate reading.”

“Thank you for the reminder, but it’s okay. I have a way to deal with it.”

Gao Yang closed his eyes and accessed the system.

[Beep—]

[Access granted.]

—I don’t need anything. Just stay running.

[Understood.]

...

Liu Qingying was stunned. What did he do? Suddenly, his brain seemed completely empty. How did he do it? Even the most experienced meditation master wouldn’t be able to clear their heads of all thoughts. It was as if he had reached the greatest heights of zen—samadhi. And he entered the state in but a second. The young man was full of surprises.

Meanwhile, Gao Yang was screaming in his head.

—Shit, shit, shit! This woman is cunning! I almost fell for her trap!

—And the nightmare! She saw everything! Fuck me! How humiliating! Just kill me!

[Your emotions are running too wild.]

—Wait, isn’t this a dream? Does the system exist in dreams as well?

[The system is not limited to specific time, space, or state of energy.]

—Ah, so when you warned me that my Luck points acquisition rate had jumped to 3000 times in the nightmare, the points I got are real too?

[The time flows at the same speed in the dream as in the real world. The bonus applies.]

—Show me.

[You have a total of 160 Luck points.]

—That much?!

—Still, it makes sense. I fought my sister for at least 3 minutes in the dream, which is 0.05 hours. Times 3000, and I get 150 Luck points. Added to that the 10 hours I’ve survived in a normal situation, I got 160 in total.

—What seems like bad luck sure can be a blessing in disguise. Would it be possible to get more Luck points by exploiting the loophole?

[No. The bonus stemming from artificial danger created by Psyche-type Talent, be it dreams or illusions, is only applicable on the first instance.]

—You sure are particular with rules.

[Duty demands.]

—Keep the 160 Luck points. I’ll save up more to comprehend new Talents.

...

Liu Qingying was far from a newbie, and she didn’t lose her calm when facing the unexpected situation. Instead, she waited quietly for even a little crack to show in Gao Yang’s defense. However, he really ended up giving her nothing, not even a useless stray thought.

She was suddenly feeling regretful. She shouldn’t have told someone this impressive about her ability to read minds when they were in a dream. Still, he would probably have guessed it on his own given how clever he was. Then he would realize she was hiding things from him and opted out of their deal. That made her think that she had perhaps done the right thing by being honest.

The young man didn’t seem like a bad person. He lived by principles and seemed to have a hidden depth. There was no telling how far he would go. She had offered the right person partnership.

Four hours later, Gao Yang opened his eyes.

“You’re waking up?” Liu Qingying asked.

“Yeah, almost.”

Gao Yang had stayed in the system for four hours until he was hit by a strange feeling. It was as if there was another body under his current, incorporeal one, and he could sense its heavy breathing and thumping heartbeat.

If his current existence was floating in an ocean, then his actual body was deep underwater. Now, it was moving to the surface gradually, ready to merge with the self floating on the surface.

In an instant, everything seemed to freeze around him. All the furniture and items in his room, the air, the moonlight coming from outside the window, and Liu Qingying dissipated into countless particles before dispersing. His vision plunged into a thick darkness.

Right before darkness enveloped him fully, he heard Liu Qingying say in a lilting voice, “Pleasure doing business with you. See you next time.”

Gao Yang opened his eyes.

It was six o’clock in the morning, and he was in a familiar bedroom staring at a familiar yellowed ceiling. From outside the window came the hubbub of early traffic, and the pleasant smell of detergent coming from his blanket wrapped around him as his heart beat in his chest, strong and steady.

He was finally awake. It had been a long, long dream.

...

After taking care of himself, Gao Yang had breakfast and visited the hospital, getting soybean milk, youtiao, and congee with century eggs and minced pork for his mother and sister.

His father could finally talk. The four of them had a pleasant breakfast together in the ward for the first time since forever. Feeling guilty, his father kept saying, “I’ll get better soon and go home. Then I’ll make egg drop soup for you.”

Gao Yang and his mother and sister smiled in response, changing the subject under silent agreement.

They hadn’t told his father that he could never walk again the rest of his life. He had thought that he was merely suffering from the after effects of the surgery, and that he would soon regain senses in his lower limbs as well as his mobility.

After breakfast, Gao Yang’s mother and sister went back home. He walked them to the entrance of the hospital.

His mother hailed a taxi while his sister stood by him. Gao Yang couldn’t help but ruffle her hair.

“What?” His sister shot him a glare, still angry at him for disappearing for two days.

“Nothing.”

“Weirdo!”

“Yeah, I’m a weirdo.” Gao Yang chuckled, quietly swearing to himself that he would be even more careful from now on to prevent his sister from finding out what he was, the question of whether she was a monster be damned.

After seeing his mother and sister get into a taxi, Gao Yang returned to his father’s ward. He saw an old doctor in white coat observing his father from the foot of the bed. His father had fallen asleep again, and the old man left after jotting something on the medical record and folding it.

Gao Yang followed and called out to him, “Where’s Dr. Baili?”

Gao Yang had officially entered the world of awakeners, and he had a lot to ask Baili Yi.

“Dr. Baili?” The old doctor gave him a strange look.

“The attending physician in charge of my dad.”

“That’ll be me!” The old man seemed bothered. “What’s wrong with you, kid?”

Gao Yang was surprised. “But I remember the doctor was named Baili Yi.”

“I did the surgery, and I remembered it clearly. Your father almost didn’t make it, while your mother, your sister, and you were waiting outside the operating room. When I got out, your mother and sister were still in pajamas. I don’t remember what you were wearing, but there was blood on your hair. I thought you were with your father in the car and told you to get a CT scan in case you had a concussion. Don’t you remember?”

Gao Yang was stunned. Now that he thought about it, the doctor was right. That night, he had just finished his fight with Old Man Zhang. With his bloodied uniform burned, he changed into the casual clothes Officer Huang had in the patrol car. However, he neglected to take care of his hair and almost got exposed.

“Hmph!” The old man seemed pleased with himself. “You may have forgotten about it, but not me. I have a great memory!”

“But Baili...”

“During the thirty more years I worked as a doctor here, I’ve never known someone with the surname Baili at this hospital!”